Hip Thrusts & Glute activation

[kharneth]

My friend is having a hard time activating her glutes while doing barbell hip thrusts. As we've increased the weight, it feels like her other muscles are taking over and so we've lowered the weight. We've investigated this problem via articles and videos, but I was wondering if I could get any insight on here.

Is this normal/typical?

[SuffolkPunch]

You are using "feel" as an indicator which is unreliable. All it really means is that you aren't slowing down / holding the positions which increases "feel" but doesn't necessarily increase muscle activation.

Put simply: you can't do a hip thrust without activating the glutes... Which other muscles are taking over...?

[kharneth]

You are using "feel" as an indicator which is unreliable. All it really means is that you aren't slowing down / holding the positions which increases "feel" but doesn't necessarily increase muscle activation.

Put simply: you can't do a hip thrust without activating the glutes... Which other muscles are taking over...?

She feels like her hamstrings are taking over, perhaps a little quads, too. I know "feels" is an unreliable indicator, but it's all she's got. I know you can't hip thrust without using the glutes, but at lower weights it feels like she's using her glutes and then at heavier weights that experience disappears.

I haven't done a lot of hip thrusts, but I've been doing some with her and, frankly, I always feel it in my glutes and I'm not sure what else to offer her.

[SuffolkPunch]

If progressive overload is happening, you have nothing to worry about.

Quads can't hip thrust... they are hip flexors (one head is anyway) and knee extensors. A hip thrust is a hip extension. Hamstrings can contribute but there is no way you can progressively overload and use LESS muscle in the process.

[kharneth]

Thank you, I will keep that in mind.

[air2fakie]

She feels like her hamstrings are taking over, perhaps a little quads, too. I know "feels" is an unreliable indicator, but it's all she's got. I know you can't hip thrust without using the glutes, but at lower weights it feels like she's using her glutes and then at heavier weights that experience disappears.

I haven't done a lot of hip thrusts, but I've been doing some with her and, frankly, I always feel it in my glutes and I'm not sure what else to offer her.

Offer your hands to see if you can feel it in her glutes for her.

[kharneth]

Offer your hands to see if you can feel it in her glutes for her.

LOL I'll have to give that a try

[GeneralSerpant]

It should be a basic stretching of the body, nothing that complicated.

It might be tricky going all the way to the floor, but you're just doing a reverse situp. So instead of tensing the muscles outside your centerline to get your abs to pull foward, do a negative situp but just blast your whole body straight and plain again from your shins up.